The number of job vacancies in Britain leapt by 19 per cent last month, with competition for work dropping to the lowest level in six years as the economy continues to recover, a new report has claimed.

There were 1.33 jobseekers for every advertised vacancy in May, down from 2.18 in the same month last year. It is the the lowest level since May 2008. In total, there were 818,471 vacancies in May compared to 686,446 in May last year.

Jobs website Adzuna said this was down to a strong rebound in struggling Northern areas, where a rise in job creation in the manufacturing sector meant many cities recorded ‘significant’ falls in competition among jobseekers.

Looking for a job: There were seven jobs for each jobseeker in Cambridge in May, while there were 20 applicants per role in Salford

The news comes after recent official figures showed unemployment fell by 161,000 to 2.16million, and the jobless rate dropped to 6.6 per cent, with both numbers better than forecast.

Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, said: ‘The robust economic recovery has relieved the log-jam in the labour market, clearing the way for the creation of far more jobs across the nation.’

And added: ‘Businesses are expanding and taking on new staff as profits begin to flow into their balance sheets. Jobseekers looking to move have far more options to choose from.’

The best city where to look for a job was Cambridge, where there were seven jobs for each applicant - up from two just a year ago - closely followed by Guilford and Aberdeen.

Meanwhile, the growing manufacturing sector in the North West and Yorkshire means these regions showed great improvement, Adzuna said, despite some of their cities still being the most difficult places to find work.

Best city to find a job: In Cambridge there were seven jobs for each applicant - up from two just a year ago

Salford was the worst city to find a job in May, despite the number of jobseekers chasing down each role dropping from 49 to 20.

In Sunderland, the second worst city for jobseekers, there were 14 jobseekers per position, down from 40 a year earlier.

Wirral, which was the worst city to find a job last year, saw the number of applicants per role drop from 56 a year ago to 17.

Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, said: ‘Growing manufacturing opportunities in the North West and Yorkshire are beginning to bridge the North-South divide in the labour market.

‘Osborne’s “Northern powerhouse” proposals for a high speed rail link between Manchester and Leeds will no doubt close that gap even further.'

Unemployment has been falling consistently for the past year and is well below the 7 per cent threshold that the Bank of England had said in August last year could trigger an increase in interest rates.

Improving: Wirral, which was the worst city where to find a job last year, saw the number of applicants per role drop from 56 a year ago to 17

The economy has improved far more quickly than Bank policymakers had anticipated, prompting further speculation about a rate rise as early as this year.

Adzuna said advertised salaries also showed an improvement for the second consecutive month, rising by 0.6 per cent to an average of £32,37 compared to April.

Every region saw salary growth, with the West Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber and London showing the strongest growth in pay rates.

But recent figures from the Office for National Statistics showed average wages in the three months to April rose by just 0.7 per cent, sharply down on the previous month, blunting hopes of a return to a period of real-terms pay growth.

Growth: Adzuna said advertised salaries also showed an improvement for the second consecutive month

Meanwhile, inflation fell by more than expected to 1.5 per cent in May.

Hunter said: ‘Wages are truly beginning to turn a corner, with employers increasing salaries in a bid to attract the talented staff they need to grow. It is helping to turn a much needed rise in real wages from distant dream to tangible reality.

'Given inflation fell to 1.5 per cent in May, it's hard to see the Bank of England holding off on raising interest rates until 2015. Surely the Bank's 'wait and see' tactics will only last as long as the summer months. Our data suggests a rate rise is most likely in Q4 of 2014.’

IT and engineering were the sectors where wages grew at the strongest pace over the last year.

The average salary for IT jobs rose to £44,844 in May – 5.1 per cent higher than twelve months ago - while in the engineering sector, the average salary rose by 4.7 per cent to £35,616.

City salaries also increased, with the average advertised salary for finance & accounting jobs 3.2 per cent higher at £37,237, while the average salary for legal jobs grew 2.8 per cent to £39,293.